Yoho National Park - British Columbia, Canada

Rating:

When to go:

Peak Season: Summer

Where to stay:

Chancellor Peak Campground
Hoodoo Creek Campground
Monarch Campground
Kicking Horse Campground
Takakkaw Campground

What to Do:

• Spend the night at Lake O'Hara
• Get wet at Takakkaw Falls
• Raft the Kicking Horse River

My Two cents:

Yoho National Park was my favorite of the five parks in the Canadian Rockies. For starters, the Kicking Horse River flows through Yoho National Park. It is probably the best, commercially rafted river in the Canadian Rockies. Then there are waterfalls, Takakkaw and Wapta are must-sees if you visit this park.

My favorite location in Yoho was the Lake O'Hara area. Now, you normally would get up to Lake O'Hara by taking their shuttle service. This requires a reservation, usually booked months in advance. But, if you get an early start and don't mind himing, you can hike the eleven miles up to Lake O'Hara. The reason for the shuttle and closing the road to the public is to limit the number of visitors that are in the Lake O'Hara at any given time. This practice helps preserve this area for future generations. It most definitely is worth preserving. Dozens of named lakes are in the Lake O'Hara area. One of the highest passes is reached through a mountaineering trail, rock climbers frequent the peaks of the Rockies in this area, and a plateau spreads to the West of Lake O'Hara. It's beautiful, it's peaceful, it's serene, it's Lake O'Hara.